According to Heyman, the Braves dealt Hanson to the Orange County LA Angels for a relief pitcher named Jordan Walden. I know nothing about Walden, but he had 32 saves in 2011 and was hurt part of last season.

Sounds like a trade of an out-of-whack starter for a similarly troubled reliever, maybe. The Braves save a chunk of money, which presumably — we hope — will be spent on a left fielder or third baseman. We shall see.

UPDATE: O’Brien types that the deal frees $4 million to chase a left fielder, and that “is the reason for the deal.”

Losing Hanson does no harm. Amazing how far his stock fell, though, from one of baseball’s top young starters 3-4 years ago to this.

This trade definitel makes sense. It gives Atlanta a comfortable amount of money to work with to try and find a free agent to play left field, or who knows, they may acquire that player through a trade. What do you guys think about Atlanta giving Evan Gattis a shot in left field for 2013?